Games Played on Empty Balconies
by Cairnsy
Summary: Sometimes it's difficult to tell who is manipulating who. DarresYujinn.


Just a shortish ficlet for Misura . This has been sitting on my live journal for some time, I suppose now is as good a time as any to actually post it somewhere. First Vampire Game piece.

Inspired by a scene in the ... first volume? Second volume? I could just see them having that same sort of argument all the time, so while this is similar in a way to that scene, they're actually arguing over a different spell . Now I'm going to have to write an Ashley x Yujinn one, I think.

**Games Played on Empty Balconies.**

They found themselves out here often, on the balcony that lead off of Yujinn's study. A mixture of marble and wrought iron, there was a bench seat thrust in the far corner that was rarely used, even though it was surrounded prettily by pot plants and hanging vines. Comfortable and decorative as the seat was, it stole anyone who sat there away from the breathtaking view that the balcony offered, and the thick railing was at such a height that it was perfect to lean against or even sit upon as a substitute.

Usually it was wonderfully quiet, hidden far away from the noise that seemed to seep through the walls and flood the corridors throughout the rest of the castle. Whenever one of them visited here alone – not that Darres would ever admit to such a thing, as he had a balcony of his own – that quiet stayed, but when visited as a pair …

Well. Darres was hardly known for remaining quiet for any length of time, especially when Yujinn was somehow involved.

"I cannot believe you waved that spell right in front of her nose, you know that she will have to attempt it now." Darres seethed quietly as he stalked towards Yujinn. Yujinn's quiet smile didn't falter at all, and Darres thought that perhaps it even widened slightly as the other man simply leaned back comfortably against the railing, his loosely braided hair falling casually across his shoulder.

"Anyone would think that you didn't want Ishtar to learn any magic at all," Yujinn replied with an 'innocent' tilt of his head. "You wouldn't want her to stay defenseless forever, would you? Then she would fall under your protection always, and you would never be allowed to leave her." The smile twisted in humor, although Darres thought he saw something linger just beneath the surface there as well. "And of course, that's the last thing you could possibly want."

"What exactly are you implying, Yujinn?" Dangerous eyes – guarded eyes – met bemused ones. Yujinn played games with words so easily, masking true meaning behind absurd observations and supposedly off-hand comments.

"If you think I am merely implying, my dear Darres, then perhaps you are in need of some more study of your own." One hand drifted to his braid, where it played idly with a few loose strands. For a brief moment the cutting remark froze Darres, before a more familiar fire melted the effect. One step, two step. By the third, he was close enough to feel Yujinn's soft breath against his cheek, and by the fourth there remained only mere millimeters between them.

And Yujinn's smile had turned most definitely into a smirk. Damn him.

"That spell will help her to escape the watch of her guards, allow her to escape her watch from me." The words were cold and quiet, each one a potential threat. "How is that going to benefit her in any way?" Careless, Yujinn was always so careless. He never thought through the consequences of some of his teachings, seeming to take an almost perverse pleasure in finding new ways to make Ishtar even more frustrating for Darres. But Darres tone had its usual effect on Yujinn.

None.

"Might it inspire her to attempt to escape from her guards? Perhaps." Even when Yujinn appeared to actually be agreeing, it seemed less an admission and more a simple statement of fact. "But I would never fault the quality of your own skills or any of those who work under you." With the last two words Yujinn moved just slightly, and Darres became suddenly aware of just how close they were. The realisation distracted him momentarily from Yujinn's comment, but when what the other had said did sink in Darres found that he had to forcefully restrain himself from grabbing Yujinn and giving him a harsh shake. Nobody threatened Darres control over his temper just as much as Yujinn did.

"This is not a game, Yujinn." He practically hissed.

"Aw, you're so cute when you're being protective of Ishtar." Yujinn murmured in response, closing the distance between them even further, mere millimeters becoming less so as he leaned in towards Darres. "It's one of the things I like about you." And then, the tiniest of gaps failed to exist even as that, as soft lips brushed gently against Darres' own.

"She is the only one I'm protective of," Darres practically growled back, daring Yujinn to try and contradict him.

"Which is why you can allow yourself to like me, even if it is only a little bit." And Yujinn was annoying and frustrating, cryptic and never, ever, simple. But most of all, he was right.

This time it was Darres who almost angrily sought out Yujinn's lips, although he was hardly as gentle as Yujinn had been.

He never was.

Yujinn relaxed into the kiss, pulling Darres closer while allowing enough ambiguity into the move that Darres could fool himself into believing he had complete control of the situation still. There were times when Darres felt almost like proving to Yujinn that he did indeed have some power in this twisted, somewhat relationship they had, although calling this a relationship was hardly fitting. It would be so easy to bruise pale skin, or to depart further still from gentleness and move closer to harshness, but even in moments where those thoughts invaded his senses, it still seemed that the only reason he felt that way in the first place was because Yujinn was deliberately manipulating him towards those ends.

Just as Yujinn had manipulated him into this kiss, and every one of their kisses.

Darres damned him silently, even as his hands slid over slender hips and began to tug gently at the material there. Then, the firm body that he had pressed against the railing seemed to practically melt away as Yujinn slipped easily from his grasp, heading back towards with his office without ever faltering in his step.

"Ishtar will be back from her break in a few minutes," Yujinn said smoothly without even bothering to turn around. "I doubt that you would want to be caught in such a position in front of her." There was faint humor in Yujinn's response, and before Darres could even pull together some thought of a reply, the other man had disappeared into his office, leaving a slightly rumpled, vaguely confused Darres alone on the balcony.

Just as Yujinn manipulated everything.


End file.
